George Combe to Charles Bray, Charlton, 24 July 1852
Title
George Combe to Charles Bray, Charlton, 24 July 1852
Title
George Combe to Charles Bray, Charlton, 24 July 1852
Sender
George Combe
Recipient
Charles Bray
Date(s)
- 1852-07-24
Place
Charlton
Letter Content
George Combe to Charles Bray, Charlton, 24 July 1852
MS: Draft on verso Bray's letter, 20 July 1852, National Library of Scotland.
Charlton, 24 July 1852 Answered thus:
If a practical scheme can be found for preserving the Review in the hands you mention, I should contribute 'a3100 and ask friends to join in raising 'a31000 but your scheme is not a practical one. Mr. C. is insolvent in his general business and the Review is still a source of loss, in my opinion of 'a3400 a year. To &unknown;take&unknown; give Mr. C. 'a31000 would be simply to cover his general deficiencies perhaps for 2 years, when it would be all lost, and the persons to whom the Review was conveyed would be liable for its debts, and when Mr. Chapman again stood still they would be called on to pay those claims and take the whole concern into their hands.
If by re-imbursing Mr. C. in the 'a3350 paid by him for the Review, disconnecting it from his general business, and applying the 'a3650 remaining of the 'a31000 to it, it might be carried on for 2 years, and I should be ready then to allow him to buy it back on refunding the 'a3350 and intermediate loss; but this would leave no remuneration for him and Miss Evans as editors. If they were paid 'a3100 a year each, the loss would be 'a3600, and the 'a31000 would suffice only for one year. Were the Review taken out of his hands entirely we should lose the advantage of his connection. In short I do not see any way to a practical solution of the difficulty.
MS: Draft on verso Bray's letter, 20 July 1852, National Library of Scotland.
Charlton, 24 July 1852 Answered thus:
If a practical scheme can be found for preserving the Review in the hands you mention, I should contribute 'a3100 and ask friends to join in raising 'a31000 but your scheme is not a practical one. Mr. C. is insolvent in his general business and the Review is still a source of loss, in my opinion of 'a3400 a year. To &unknown;take&unknown; give Mr. C. 'a31000 would be simply to cover his general deficiencies perhaps for 2 years, when it would be all lost, and the persons to whom the Review was conveyed would be liable for its debts, and when Mr. Chapman again stood still they would be called on to pay those claims and take the whole concern into their hands.
If by re-imbursing Mr. C. in the 'a3350 paid by him for the Review, disconnecting it from his general business, and applying the 'a3650 remaining of the 'a31000 to it, it might be carried on for 2 years, and I should be ready then to allow him to buy it back on refunding the 'a3350 and intermediate loss; but this would leave no remuneration for him and Miss Evans as editors. If they were paid 'a3100 a year each, the loss would be 'a3600, and the 'a31000 would suffice only for one year. Were the Review taken out of his hands entirely we should lose the advantage of his connection. In short I do not see any way to a practical solution of the difficulty.
Citation
George Combe, George Combe to Charles Bray, Charlton, 24 July 1852, Complete George Eliot Letters(2026), George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett. https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed September 7, 2026. https://georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/94239